August market commentary

Global markets were relatively subdued in August. This is fairly typical for the waning days of the Northern summer when financiers head to the beach and take their liquidity with them. However, the news cycle did not take a holiday. Tariffs and tech valuations remained hot topics, particularly when US President Trump slapped duties of 50% on India’s exports.

US markets were further unsettled by Trump’s growing interest in HR. When the US Bureau of Labour Statistics released startlingly soft jobs data for July, and slashed estimates for the prior two months, Trump fired the head statistician. Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell took a breather as POTUS’s chief punching bag when Trump demanded the resignation of a different Fed board member.

Tech stocks came under pressure as jittery investors looked for signs of a sector slowdown, predominantly in Nvidia’s quarterly tea leaves. While the market heavyweight’s latest earnings did not disappoint, it succumbed to a bout of profit-taking anyway. Despite this, markets found support from the apparently unassailable US consumer and the Fed’s hints that it might finally be in the mood to cut rates.

Sentiment was softer at home following confirmation of a 15% tariff on our products into the US, with estimates it could cost exporters north of $1.4 billion in trade costs. Unemployment continued to creep up and wage growth slowed as businesses held back on hiring. The RBNZ helped lift spirits by cutting interest rates to 3% and signalling further wiggle room.

Australian stocks tore out of the starting gate to reach record highs following the RBA’s widely expected 25 basis point rate cut and a slew of encouraging earnings. Markets suffered a mild hangover later in the month on weakness in healthcare and energy, as well as some opportunistic profit-taking.

Against this backdrop, the S&P 500 finished August up 1.9%, while the tech-focused Nasdaq rose 1.6%. The NZX 50 gained 0.8% over the month, while the ASX 200 finished 2.6% ahead.

Elsewhere, the UK’s FTSE 100 ended August up 0.6%. Investors celebrated the Bank of England’s decision to drop borrowing costs to their lowest level in more than two years. However, the mood swiftly soured on evidence that Britain has a bit of an inflation problem. Consumer prices climbed by 3.8% in July compared to a year ago, up from 3.6% in June.

 

GBP and AUD / NZD exchange rate change from 31 July 2025 to 31 August 2025:

 

GBP and AUD / NZD exchange rate change from 31 August 2024 to 31 August 2025:

 

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Month Summary - December 2024

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Monthly Summary - August 2024

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Monthly Summary - March 2024

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Monthly Summary - February 2024

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Monthly Summary - January 2024

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Monthly Summary - December 2023

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Monthly Summary - November 2023

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Monthly Summary - October 2023

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Monthly Summary - September 2023

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Monthly Summary - July 2023

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Monthly Summary - April 2023

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Monthly Summary - March 2023

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Monthly Summary - February 2023

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Monthly Summary - January 2023

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Monthly Summary - December 2022

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Monthly Summary - November 2022

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Monthly Summary - October 2022

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Monthly Summary - September 2022

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Monthly Summary - August 2022

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Monthly Summary - July 2022

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Monthly Summary - June 2022

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Monthly Summary - May 2022

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Monthly Summary - April 2022

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Monthly Summary - March 2022

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Monthly Summary - February 2022

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Monthly Summary - January 2022

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Monthly Summary - December 2021

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Monthly Summary - November 2021

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Monthly Summary - October 2021

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Monthly Summary - September 2021

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Monthly Summary - August 2021

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Monthly Summary - July 2021

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Monthly Summary - June 2021

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Monthly Summary - May 2021

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Monthly Summary - April 2021

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Monthly Summary - March 2021

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Monthly Summary - February 2021

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Monthly Summary - January 2021

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Monthly Summary - December 2020

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Monthly Summary - November 2020

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Monthly Summary - October 2020

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Monthly Summary - September 2020

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Monthly Summary - August 2020

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Monthly Summary - July 2020

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Monthly Summary - June 2020

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